Modern
Setting(excerpted from The promontory palace at Caesarea
Maritima: preliminary evidence for Herod's Praetorium by Kathyrn
L. Gleason, et al.)

The
ruins of Caesarea Maritima lie forty kilometers north of Tel Aviv
along the rapidly developing coastline, divided among the lands
of the Israel National Park Authority, Kibbutz Sdot Yam, and the
development projects of the privately owned Caesarea Development
Corporation. The Promontory Palace, extending
westwards 100 m. into the sea, is situated within the National Park,
adjacent to the restored ancient theater and the newly discovered
amphitheatron (a stadium/hippodrome complex).

The
ruins of the palace lie in two parts. The Lower Palace is built
close to sea level, its central peristyle framing a great
rock-cut pool. The Upper Palace, built on a higher reach of
the promontory and on a slightly different orientation, focuses
on a large central courtyard, paved in compacted
crushed stone. Although not previously well-known to tourists, the
promontory palace is currently undergoing partial reconstruction
as part of a tourist path from the theater to a new seaside promenade
terminating at the Crusader Fortress wall.

Historical
Setting

Caesarea Maritima, established by Herod the
Great on the site of the Hellenistic city of Strato's Tower, has
been known continuously from its founding through until the present
day, and is the setting for numerous historically significant events
and personages. The palace of the city is mentioned in only a few
instances, although incidents in lives of the procurators, governors
and other officials who dwelt there are more frequently described.

An artist's interpretaion of Caesarea Maritima's harbor and lighthouse.
Painting source: National GeographicThe basileia features prominently in Josephus'
description of Herod's building programs at Caesarea. Agrippa I
was struck by fatal illness in the theater and died in the palace.
"Herod's praetorium" was the destination of the apostle
Paul for a hearing before Antoninus Felix at Caesarea (Acts of the
Apostles 23:35.). Later, Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenike
visited a new governor, Porcius Festus,there and heard Paul's self-defense
in the akroaterion (Acts 25:23). Josephus, in relating the incident
of the standards at Caesarea (BellJ 2 169-74; AntJ 18.57), mentions
a demonstration outside of the palace which moved into the adjacent
stadium.

Together these narrative sources provide an
image of the palace, stadium (amphitheater, hippodrome), and theater
in close proximity to one another. Such a constellation of palace
and public buildings in the southern area of the city, however,
was unknown to excavators until the last quarter of this century.
Only the theater, excavated in 1958 by A. Frova had been recognized
since the mapping efforts of Conder and Kitchener in the 1880s.
The palace and Josephus' amphiteatron, however, remained lost to
memory.

Caesarea
Bibliography:

HISTORICAL
TIMELINE

Hellenistic
Strato's Tower

22 BCE: Herod founds and dedicates
Caesarea

15
BCE: Herod visits Rome

10/9:
Opening Games

6
C.E. New province of Judaea. First comes under Augustus'
direct control under the legatus of Syria. Governor in Caesarea
was an official of equestrial ranct with the title prefect.

41-44: Herod Agrippa I reigns
under Claudius

44:
Agrippa dies in the theater at Caesarea. Power resumed by
Rome under a procurator.

58:
Paul's first visits to Caesarea

60-62:
Paul imprisoned; transferred from prison at Caesarea to
Rome
66: Start of the Jewish revolt. Roman army comes to Judaea.
Vespasian based at Caesarea.

69:
Vespasian declared emperor by his troops, in Caesarea; Vespasian
declares the city a colony.

70-90:
Judaea capta coin seriesSecond
Century:Marked by an absence of
literary or other sources. A Lack of Jewish leadership
results in much assimilation among Jews resettling in
Caesarea. Caesarea keeps growing. Harbor slumps.

100:
Agrippa II: Civil and Military affairs handled by a legatus
augusti propraetore who resided at Caesarea

132-135:
Second Jewish Revolt

180:
Death of Marcus Aurelius; instability followsThird
Century:flourishing and diverse city
life-- no single group dominant among Christians, pagans,
Samaritans and Jews; close ties to Alexandria

201:
Septimius Severus vivits Palestine, establishes Pythian
games

230-250:
Origen lives at Caesarea (dies 253) flourishing school and
Christian intellectual life.

231:Alexander
Severus visits Caesarea; elevates it to a Metropolis

235:
Persecution of Christians under Maximin--church leaders
the focus. Proconsul Urban orders all inhabs to offer sacrifices
to gods. Origen flees to Cappadocia.

250:
Persecution of Christians under Decius: severe. Origen tortured
in prison. Bishop of Jerusalem persecuted--dies after torture
at Caesarea. Governors replaced three times during this
period.

250-270:
possible Palmyrean conquest of city

253:
Peak of Caesarean mint's production

258:
Persecution of Christians under Vallerian: three martyrs.

260:
Persecution of Christians under Gallienus: one martyr.

273:
Aurelian conquers Palmyra--threat ended.Turn
of fourth century:Caesarea
head of Palestine at its fullest extent. Sizable officium
in the city. Soldiers of local garrison. Highest tribunal
in province.

300:
Public inscriptions now Greek

303:
Flavian, proconsul in Caesarea declares that Christian in
office would lose all civil rights while those in imperial
households would be deprived of liberty.

358:
Reduction of province (Petra as capital of S. Arabia). Caesarea
begins to decline as Palestine is redivided with new capitals.Mid-Fifth
century: more land divided from Palestine.
Christian tourism. Less centralized. Rise of country estates,
cities generally, lose their splendor. Immigration of Christians
to country towns. Samaritan community initiates uprisings
against Constantinople using Caesarea as a base.

484:
Samaritans slay Christians, burn churches while their ruler,
Justa, celebrates a triumph with games in the hippodrome.

529:
Samaritan attack on Christians, burn churches.

536:
Justinian elevates Caesarea's governor to rank of proconsul.

555/556:
Samaritan attack on Christians, burn churches. Governor
of the Province, Stephanos killed in his onw praetorium
and his possession in the building were pillaged.Mid-sixth century: Octagonal
Church on temple platform
By the late byzantine period, Procopius of Gaza describes
how wretched the port had become. Few non-christian minorities.
Port of no use. Aqueducts in disrepair, fire, famine, depopulation.
Factionalism centering around sporting events. However,
much was refurbished--the city would not be deserted for
centuries to come.

627:
Persian district governor interrogates the monk Anastasius,
who is then imprisioned in the city's fortress.